First Journeys Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Downstairs In this complete darkness. Something inside me made me close my eyes, just as I did riding on Tyr’s back. I could sense my surroundings, felt every heartbeat of Plemo and I learned that Elly had two hearts. I felt the stairs and the faint electric residue in the lamps. The stairs transformed with a metallic hum, into a steep declined slide. Plemo had no warning and was sliding away before I could warn him. I managed to hold onto the hand rail and prevent the slide, but Plemo and most likely the others where sliding into a death trap and the fastest way down was sliding, but I would not slide unprepared. I drew the blaster dropped onto my butt and let go. I heard voices below, commanding voices and raised the blaster ... There at the bottom of the stairs that now were a slide ramp two figures, perhaps 150 cm tall large heads and armed. I sensed Plemo float in mid- air struggling against some unseen force, but with my new sense I saw the head of one figure almost if glowing. Psionics! I did not hesitate, I fired right at the center of that bright perceived glow, and Plemo fell instantly. The other figure turned his brain and something on his chin started to emit energies. Whatever the figure wanted to do, it was too late my second beam sliced right through his head. Plemo screamed, more out of anger than fear.” I am going to get you!” I yelled back.” It’s me Plemo, Eric! I killed whatever was holding you. I noticed a circuit board on the wall and pressed the contact. With a sharp clack the Ramp went back into stair form and a second switch turned on the lights. Plemo ripped his blaster out of his holster and even though I never seen an angry Elly before, I knew he was furious. Two dead beings still armed with strange shaped blasters lay on the floor, most of their heads were gone, burned to molecular ashes. “Plemo calm down, right now!” I said with a sharp tone.” Get up those stairs and wake the Instructors. Tell them we need help.” “But...” “No argument! Now go! I need to guard this panel so no one turns the stairs to a ramp again!” “Yes Sir!” He turned and stomped up the stairs. Only after I heard the metal door slam I went to my knees. I was in a short corridor, with some sort of conveyor belt on the left hand side, it was not active. It disappeared after a few meters through a square opening with a slated roll gate closing that opening, next to it a metal door. The door was rusty and had dirty glass panels in the upper half. I kicked the dead alien’s weapons under the frame of the conveyor belt. Now I could stay here and wait for the professionals to arrive, which would have been the smart thing to do, but I resigned trying to go against my own nature. There were friends in danger, that much was clear as fresh water ice. I had no idea who these white skinned small men were in those stupid looking robes, but if there were two there might have been more! On my knees I crawled towards that door. If someone was behind it. They were warned something had gone wrong. I pressed myself as much as possible against the wall and gave the door a push at the bottom three bright beams perforated the door at the same moment. If I had still been standing at least two of would have hit me. A shower of metal sparks burned my back and I clenched my teeth not to make a sound. The door swung back in its frame, I heard steps from beyond the hinged swing door coming closer. From the gap between floor and door I saw four Elly like feet. Someone in the local language said. “Whoever it was you got him. Our masters will be pleased!” I was glad they had uploaded the local language into our brains and hour before we landed. I aimed the blaster’s muzzle at that gap and the feet behind and fired describing a small arch while keeping the trigger pressed. The beam dug a bright glowing fan shaped pattern into the concrete and glowing slit of molten metal drooling on the floor. Someone was screaming in agonizing pain. I kicked the door open, rushed through, avoiding the semi liquid concrete by a fraction, and jumped onto the conveyor belt, remembering the third beam. Two Yokuta with badly burned leg stumps lay on the floor, one in shock and the other still screaming. A third stood about five meters behind them. Holding a weapon but didn not immideatly react or shoot. I aimed the blaster, holding it with both hands. “Drop your blaster.” It was as if he was fighting or resisting himself. He wanted to lower the blaster I could see that, but against his will it raised. He was controlled by someone or something. I didn’t want to kill him. So I fired into the ceiling, showering him with sparks, hoping to distract him. His instincts were stronger then whatever controlled him and he raised his arms to protect his face. Now he was a Yokuta, at least double my mass and two heads taller, and I had no idea if they had any vulnerable spots, but I holstered the gun and attacked with a running tackle, hit him midriff and all the force I could muster. He was driven back but not as much as I had hoped. It felt as if I had ran against one of those big sand filled leather bags we had at fight school. I just knew I could not have done that with a Yokuta on top of his game, his left hand brushed my ear with a powerful hay maker and the burning pain felt as if he had taken my ear clean off. I retaliated with two left right combinations aimed into the middle of his face where the trunk meet the eyes, and rammed my knee into what would be the stomach pit of a human opponent. If he was to connect another one of his punches I would have been done for. So much for my decision not to wait for back up. He made a tooting sound as I hit him again this time right at the trunk, and he stumbled back, while I avoided another punch by the width of a hair. He was trying now to aim the weapon he still held. Either I ended it now or I had to shoot him as well. I stomped my heavy boots on his open toe sandal like shoes and that had the desired effect. He yelped and raised a leg and gave me a wide open target for an axe handle blow to his trunk! He fell back wards, and I kicked the blaster out of his hand. It took two more kicks against his head to make the Yokuta stop trying to get back up. This seemed to be some sort of postal depot. The conveyor belt ran along a row of chairs, most likely occupied during normal operations to sort whatever was coming down the slide and along the conveyor belt. The stairs converting to a ramp was not a real trap but a slide for mail or packages and had some industrial or ware housing purpose. Four pill shaped dark red man high capsules in the middle of the room looked out of place, did not fit with the rest of the equipment. A little square box was strapped to the middle of each had a read out displaying foreign glyphs in bright red changing in a steady pace. While I was not able to determine the exact purpose of these cylinders, I had no doubt the boxes were timers. Something very bad would happen if the timers had reached the end of their countdown that was obvious. No one else was in the room. I did not see Deadan or the others and thankfully no one hostile either. Not knowing if I doomed everybody including me, I pulled my knife and cut the strap that held the first timer box to the large metal container ... It came loose. Now what? I had a live bomb counting down in my hands! There were three more like it! Over there, across the conveyor belt a metal chute. There were chutes like this across all the now abandoned sorting or work stations. I cut all the boxes off and threw them each in a different chute. I noticed the cold sweat on my forehead now stinging in my eyes. I heard some machinery starting up from the first chute and the conveyor belt started running. The Conveyor belt disappeared through another portal at the other end of the room and I simply hoped on and lay flat on it. Just then there was a muffled explosion and the first chute emitted a flash cloud of fire and smoke, heartbeats later the other three did the same, the conveyor had carriedto a hole in the wall and through it into the next area of this underground ware house place. The first thing I saw was Deadan He was not moving and lying on the floor, Due ue to that I overlooked the robot arm that grabbed me, by the left shoulder in a painful crushing grip and was about to stuff me in some sort of machine. I fired the blaster against the robot arms base and dropped to the floor. My left arm was next to useless; the robot claw must have broken my shoulder, or at least dislocated it. I could not say but it hurt like hell, at least it was making me forget making my still throbbing ear. Before I rushed to Deadan, I recognized him by his uniform; I took cover behind a large crate and looked around. The place was some sort of assembly plant, with machinery, conveyor belts and towering shelves. Millions of corners for someone to hide and take aim. The machine behind me so it turned out was similar to the robot in the Nilfeheim XChange warehouse that I had seen. Back on Nilfeheim the sttionary robot wrapped fish and Tyrannos. This machine packed anything that entered via the conveyor in a shrink wrap plastic skin and placed it onto a pallet.An empty pallet exiting the machine. I would have been on if hadn’t escaped. I kept low and rushed over to Deadan who still wasn’t moving. I didn’t see any obvious reason why he would not move but he felt stiff and cold. I hoped against my sad conclusion of his condition that he was still alive, and just knocked out. The empty pallet had reached the end of the conveyor line and a robotic fork lift took it and placed it into a shelf, next to a pallet that had something on it that moved! Trying to stay as much behind cover I rushed to the shelf and found the human cadet, Ninio and Potsema, tightly wrapped in plastic, Ninio still moved! It took me no time to cut the plastic open. Ninio did nothing but breathe like I never seen anyone or anything take in air. Potsema was up and out next to me seeming little affected. She simply squiggled me all over.”Eric! You saved us!” “Potsema not now! Take care of Ninio!” I checked on the human cadet. He was dead, no question. I could not feel any pulse and even after several minutes of intensive CPR I got no sign of life! A heavy hand dropped on my shoulder.”Let him go, Cadet! He is gone!’ I turned ready to fight but it was not necessary. A Union Marine and one of our Instructors were there. INTERLUDE :26 SIUCRA Olnatar heard his space feeler operator tell him they located the small fleet of little boats that had escaped from the doomed Plato ship. They didn’t get too far! Near or completley of fuel or with burned out FTL drives stranded in the middle of deep space. It would hardly take one ship, to destroy them. but he came that far with a thousand ships. The disgusting life forms must had their colony somewhere out here. They were moving towards the more star populated space of this sector of the galaxy. “Grand Initiator. We are receiving a long distance speech request.” “As much as it disgusts me to see and talk to these creatures, I will give them a chance to explain where their home world is.” A different being this one apparently with insectoid features appeared on the Visualizer. “I am N’Vaant, First of the Guard of the N’ Toothal. I have come by the command of Queen N’thannskknta the 674th most sovereign and sole ruler of the Klack Hegemony. I am hailing you up unknown aggressors! Let it be known to you. That the queen in her great wisdom has declared this space to be Klack and therefore Union space, you are to turn around and return to wherever your came from. We are Klack and we shall not fail in protecting our brothers and friends.” “Empty threats from a being that is no more than vermin, you will be exterminated. You may report to your queen that we will exterminate anyone harboring slaves or dares to approach sacred space! Go run and tell that queen of parasites to beg for mercy so we will be amused.” “We will be soon in range of your limited scanners. You cannot insult us as we know who we are. I have delivered my official message and now let me give you a personal piece of advice. “You destroyed a Union ship and you killed Terrans, that makes them very angry. There is a fleet of Union ships on its way and you may seek doom fighting us, or turn tail and flee, it is you who should beg for forgiveness and offer pertinence. It is not just those few ships of yours, but your race that is in deadly peril. This was a friendly warning. Make your decisions either way. The time for talk ends now.” Olnatar was furious that this insect cut off communications before he could spew a few more insults, but the Insect would soon enough hail again to beg.” The first forward units of the Siucra fleet was almost in firing range, but then their space feelers detected something that could not be. A moon size object, almost overloaded the feeler circuits had just dropped into scanner range and standard space. It was not a moon! It was artificial. A sphere of 4200 nuthum diameter. Not much smaller than the home world moon of the Siucra, and it moved! Survivors of the Ivanhoe “Good Lord!” Someone whispered in the crowded Scallop. “What is this?” Nn’tik said proudly.”Behold the last of the Battle Moons of the Klack Hegemony, once we had 50 of these, but that was almost 12,000 years ago. We lost many in the first Y’All war and more during Red Night, the darkest years of Klack history. Klack lost the knowledge and the ability to build new ones. One is in permanent orbit and no longer able to fly, but this one, is currently refurbished and restored in a secret project by Union Fleet engineers. It has not been comleted, and will take many years to finish if my information is correct.” Marcus snapped.”We will honor the Klack and this awesome ship later, Nn’tik. Hail them so we can get inside. Communication to all Auxiliary craft of the Ivanhoe, approach that Behemoth and see if they let us in!” “Already receiving hangar guide beams Sir! That hangar just opening would have room for the Devi!” “I think I am going to kiss you, Nn’tik!” Marcus said and then added. “And I promise I be on Klackt next time the Queen celebrates her birthday to honor her!” SIUCRA It took the Siucra a few moments to digest what they saw, but one of them released a bolt of Holy Fire and the bolt penetrated the shields of the huge ship and burned a compareable small but visible hole into the huge ships armor!” Olnatar screamed in delight.”Big it is, yes. But no match for Holy Fire! It will just make a bigger explosion when it goes! All Ships close in and fire!” N’Vaant was well aware of the limitations of his huge ship. The N’ Toothal was very old and her Armor had was only replaced by thirty percent with Union Ultronit. The rest was simple steel. The shields were original Klack,, and since the ship was considered a private ship, not a Fleet unit. It had not received modern military grade weapons. He simply hoped he could buy enough time for the crew of the Ivanhoe, until the 9th fleet arrived. The good thing was that the N’toothal had only 100 Klack crew and the simple Steel armor was almost 100 meters thick. He had received the Intel reports of the Fleet and the analysts on Arsenal III were certain the cannons used by these aggressive aliens were of a much higher Techlevel than the rest of the agressors techncial capabilities. His Computronic calculated that the 1000 alien ships would have to fire three times each to cripple the ship. And since they had to recharge after each shot, he thought he had a good chance to collect the stranded crew and go to Trans light.” He silently listened to the damage reports of his officers from each shot from the alien fleet. So far nothing vital had been hit.” Hail the Ivanhoe crew and tell them to hurry up!” Olnatar could not stop laughing. The weapon fire of the huge ship was sporadic and so far had only destroyed one of his ships, a ship that went to close. It was obvious that this giant had no weapon that could reach as far as the Holy fire could. He told his fleet to take no risk. And concentrate fire on one side of the ship only.”If that was meant to impress us they failed. They build big but that iron ball is slow and primitive!” “Grand initiator, there are new contacts on the Feeler horizon. This time tiny little things, but very fast!” “First an Iron ball that is slow and now gnats, what will they send next to amuse us?” WOLFCRAFT FIGHTERS 9th FLEET “This is Bobcat, Attack wing Alpha calling the USS Balmung. We arrived at engagement area. The Klack monster is in trouble but they just managed to take the last Aux craft of the Ivanhoe aboard. Do we have attack permission?” “This is Admiral Strother. All Wolfcraft, engage to destroy. I repeat engage and destroy. No mercy no quarter! The Long range sniper bun boats are in range in T-13.” Bobcat switched to Wing channel.”All wings you heard Wild Bill, the first kill gets a case of Devi beer!” SIUCRA Olnatar was not concerned even though these tiny ships that now approached were faster than anything they had ever seen. What race would put resources in such a big ship and then build so small ones? What could these little one possibly do against a Siucra Battleship?” The first Siucra battle ship exploded right next to his flag ship, it suddenly expanded like an inflatable toy and then disappeared in a sun bright explosion. Grand Initiator, our targeting calcmatics find it difficult to predict the course of these little ships! We cannot bring the Holy fire Casters fast enough into the right direction!” Another Siucra ship exploded then five right after that. There was no detectable weapon fire from these little ships, yet he got reports that antimatter explosions suddenly occurred inside the ships engine rooms! There! Two Siucra battle ships managed to fire and hit one of the little ships, the withering energies simply made a purple energy bubble visible for a short millisecond then the small fighter ship was gone and two more of his fleet’s ships exploded! Now on the furthest magnification horizon of their Visualizer 100 wedge shape ships appeared, shaped exactly like the first ship they encountered and destroyed but by magnitudes bigger! 9th FLEET “Giga loads authorized! Giga loads authorized!” Came the speaker message. The main battery crews of the USS Balmung grabbed their anti static rags and the gleaming red aluminum casings came up the bomb elevator. Sergeant Nick Stone grinned at his Bootnar partner.” It’s big boy time!” The Botnaar wiped like a whirlwind and growled back. “They picked the wrong Admiral to mess with; Our Wild Bill loves his Giga loads!” Nick wrote: Greetings from the USS Ivanhoe with a grease pen on the case as it slid into the dematerialization breech. The next red casing came up the elevator. Commander Marcus had reached the Command center of the N’ Toothal and stood next to the Klack. They and the rest of the bridge crew saw the USS Balmung slowly drift to fire lee as all her main batteries, all 20 giga load cannons simultaneous displaced. Twenty small suns bloomed between the Alien fleet and each energy bloom marked the former location of a Sicura ship... “That is for you Captain Saxa!” He said with a constricted throat while the crew behind them cheered. SIURCRA There was fear in the voice of his Distant Speaker Operator.” Great Initiator, we lost three hundred ships already! And there are more of these slave ships coming! We must retreat! The Holy Fire does not penetrate whatever protection bubbles they have.” “Tell the other ships to fight to the end, while we return to Holy Space and get more ships!” He said that knowing deep inside, that all ships of the Siucra would make no difference. The insectoids was correct after all. Who or whatever these Unions were, he wished now he did not anger them. But all they had to do is pray and chant to call their masters, the Kermac would surley hear their plea. “Let us chant for Kermac help!” Olnatar paid for all his sins in this universe as a five kiloton Anti matter bomb at the point of detonation materialized right under his hanging bar. Ninth Fleet Admiral “Wild” Bill Strother, COWACOM (Coreward Fleet Command) had personally taken command of the 9th Fleet and made the USS Balmung, BBG-31 his flag ship. He didn’t like to sit even though regulations required everyone on the bridge to be secured in a Battle station chair during General Quarters. There were a few perks that came with his three stars and not to take every regulation as strict as a Cadet was one of them. Besides if there was something that could throw him off his feet standing in the best protected area of a super dreadnought Arsenal class ship, he would not be much safer in a battle seat. He had his hands rested on the railing surrounding the so called Command balcony. Behind him was Captain Bernhard Sassoon, completely disappeared inside his Battle viewer. It was those moments he wished he was a captain again. Yes he earned his rank and for the most part liked the fact that he was done with work every day at 1600 hours and could go home into a nice little house by the river, but in times like this he itched to be back in the thick, back in a command chair. It was there where he earned his nick name, no one dared to say in his face, but everyone said it with loving respect behind his back, Wild Bill. Category:Fragments - Eric Olafson Category:Stories